Morrie Yohai, 90, inventor of the Cheez Doodle, dies

Yohai said Cheez doodles were made to be as healthy as possible. (Pearson/Getty)

Morrie Yohai, who died of cancer at age 90 last week, was a mystic, a World War II Marine pilot and a philanthropist. But he'll probably be remembered most as the creator of the Cheez Doodle.

So how did he come up with the iconic snack? After World War II, Yohai took over his father's snack-food business at the Old London Melba toast factory in the Bronx. The business already made Cheese Waffles, caramel popcorn and other snacks but wanted something new, Newsday reported.

"We were looking for another snack item," Yohai told Newsday in a 2005 interview. "We were fooling around and found out there was a machine that extruded cornmeal and it almost popped like popcorn."

Yohai said they decided to chop the cornmeal product into small pieces and coat it with cheese. "We wanted to make it as healthy as possible," he said, "so it was baked, not fried."

The name Doodle occurred to him as they sat round a table sampling various kinds of cheese for snacks.

Yohai was born in Harlem in 1920. After he graduated from the Wharton School of business, he took a job at the Grumman aircraft factory on Long Island. During World War II, Yohai left work to enlist in the Navy and become a pilot.

His son, Robbie Yohai, of Berkeley, Calif., told Newsday, "He decided since he was making planes, he figured he could fly a plane." He said his father had never taken an airplane ride. "The first time he was ever in an airplane, he was the co-pilot."

Morrie Yohai transferred to the Marine Corps and served as a pilot in the South Pacific, transferring injured troops and cargo back and forth.

"He was excited by the experience," his son said. "He was happy to be a Marine and was very proud of it."

In 1949, Yohai began his career at the snack food factory in the Bronx.

Evetually, Yohai sold the company to Bordon. His new title was group vice president in charge of snacks. He told Newsday that his job involved sitting around a conference table with other executives and selecting the toys inside Cracker Jack boxes.

"It turned out that he loved teaching," Robbie Yohai told Newsday. "He could see he was making a difference in a lot of these young peoples' lives."

In later years, Yohai studied Torah and Jewish mysticism. He took up writing, and penned more than 500 poems and published two books of poetry.

He was a member of Temple Beth El in Great Neck. His philanthropic work included founding the New York Sephardic Jewish Film Festival."His life took many turns," said his daughter, Bab Yohai of Oakland, Calif. "He did whatever he set his mind to and he was incredible."

In addition to his two children, he is survived by his wife, Phyllis, and his two sisters, Bea Forrest of Chicago and Lorraine Pinto of Mexico City, and a grandchild, Jasmine Yohai-Rifkin. He was predeceased by another sister, Lillian.